Pat was born October 13, 1953 in Brush, Colorado. He won his first race in 1973 at Prescott Downs in Arizona and by the late 70’s, made it to the top of the national standings.
A four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey, he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991. Pat won the Kentucky Derby on Lil E. Tee in 1992, won the Preakness Stakes five times, the Belmont – 3 times and 12 Breeder’s Cup wins. He is the All-time leading rider at Churchill Downs and Keeneland Race Course.
Among his many notable mounts are Theatrical, Summer Squall, Dance Smartly, Flanders, Tabasco Cat, With Anticipation, Lady’s Secret with his “personal best” pick being Easy Goer who pulled off a 8-length win in the Belmont Stakes after a Triple Crown duel with Sunday Silence.
Awards include the George Woolf Memorial Award, the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey in 1984, 1986, 1987 and 1991) plus the Mike Venezia Memorial Award for extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship. Pat also earned Champion Jockey by wins 1982 – 1984, 1986, 1990 and 1991). He received the Big Sport of Turfdom Award in 2005. His riding career spanned 32 years and 8,804 victories.
Since retiring from riding in Aug. 2005 Pat has become a full time evangelist speaking at a variety of venues including many racetracks. He resides near Louisville, Kentucky with wife Sheila and daughter Irene.
